Preliminary investigation of the Denver Attention Test (DAT) in a mixed clinical sample.

In this pilot study, the clinical utility of a new computerized performance validity test (PVT) called the Denver Attention Test (DAT) was evaluated in a known-groups experimental design. Subjects consisted of 130 adults with mixed neurological conditions evaluated in an outpatient setting. Using the Word Memory Test (WMT) to categorize subjects into valid and invalid groups, the DAT was found to have adequate discrimination. Classification statistics for the DAT demonstrated low to moderate sensitivity and excellent specificity relative to the WMT. ROC analyses demonstrated AUCs of at least .78 for select DAT subtests. Overall, data from this pilot study suggest that the DAT has potential to serve as a useful PVT. Future research directions are discussed.

Premorbid estimates of neuropsychological functioning for diverse groups.

One of the basic tasks performed by a neuropsychologist is to identify the difference between current performance and the premorbid expected performance. Baseline expected performance for Intellectually Impaired (n = 21), Developmentally Delayed (n = 40), Attention Deficit Disorder (n = 98), Learning Disability (n = 42), and "Normal" groups (n = 75) were developed along with a demographically corrected prediction of premorbid functioning and a word reading based prediction of premorbid functioning. We utilized a subset of this data pool for development (n = 107) and validation (n = 108) of premorbid functioning estimates. Findings show that a combination of three methods (baseline, demographic, and reading) were superior to any individual method. The effect size (Cohen's d) calculations show that differences in the prediction of domain level performances were small and likely not clinically meaningful, indicating that the premorbid estimates would be usable as a prediction of expected performance at the domain level. However, the motor domains were not well predicted.